RMAS Newton (A367)
# RMAS Newton (A367)

RMAS Newton was an underwater research vessel with limited provision for cable laying. She was originally used for sonar propagation trials.

## History

RMAS Newton was built at Scott Lithgow Ltd's yard at Greenock. She had three Mirrlees Blackstone 1,450 hp (1,080 kW) diesel engines driving GEC generators for propulsion through a single screw and the ship's electrical supply. This gave her a service speed of 13.5 kn (25.0 km/h; 15.5 mph). To aid manouverability at low speed she had a nozzle rudder and a bow thruster. She was launched on 25 June 1975 and taken into service one year later, on 18 June 1976.

In 2000, she underwent a major refit which included replacing her Mirlees engines with Ruston RK 215 units. At the same time her cable handling equipment was removed. Subsequently, she was used as a training and support vessel for special forces. In 2005, she underwent a further refit at Birkenhead.

On 1 April 2008, she was taken over by Serco who operated her until 2010 when she was replaced by SD Victoria. In 2012 she was sent to Ghent for scrapping.

